1. Technical field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device for providing necessary visual information by a display during use and for pretending to have no display during nonuse.
2. Related Art
Currently, a large-sized display 1 is generally provided in the central part of an instrument panel 2 or thereon as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B in order to provide information to a driver.
However, while the display is convenient when car navigation information is used, the presence of the display becomes an obstacle during nonuse because it is particularly large-sized and the appearance of the periphery of the instrument panel is damaged.
In consideration of such circumstances, the invention has an object to provide a display device capable of giving necessary visual information by means of a display during use and of pretending to have no display during nonuse.
A first aspect of the invention is directed to a display device having a display fitted in an attached portion and serving to emit a display light to an outside during lighting, wherein a front face of the display is covered with a screen having a large number of minute holes capable of transmitting the display light and a surface of the screen is set to have the same color and pattern as those of the attached portion on a periphery of the display.
In the display device according to the invention, the display provided on the back of the screen is turned on during use. Therefore, the display light of the display is transmitted forward through the minute hole of the screen. Accordingly, the image of the display can be seen through the screen. At this time, the color and pattern of the screen cannot be seen due to the brightness of the display light transmitted through the minute hole. Therefore, the presence of the screen does not become a visual obstacle.
Moreover, the display is turned off during the nonuse. Therefore, the back of the screen becomes dark so that the display cannot be seen from the front of the screen. The light is not transmitted from the back, Therefore, the color and pattern on the surface of the screen can be seen clearly. Consequently, the attached portion provided around the display and the screen can be unified and seen with the same color and pattern.
A second aspect of the invention is directed to the display device according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the surface of the screen is set to have the same grained color and pattern as those of the attached portion on the periphery of the display.
In the display device according to the invention, the color and pattern on the surface of the screen are unified to be grained in the same manner as the color and pattern of the attached portion on the periphery. Therefore, when the display is turned off, the whole attached portion can be seen to be grained including the portion where the display is fitted. In particular, the color and the pattern are grained. Therefore, a boundary between the screen on the front face of the display and the attached portion on the periphery can be visually blurred as compared with the case of a single color. Thus, a sense of unification can be wholly enhanced. Moreover, in the case in which the screen has a white based color and pattern and the display is turned off so that the back becomes dark, only that portion has a dark tone so that a sense of incompatibility might be given. However, since the grained tone is used, the tone can be prevented from sinking even if the back becomes dark. Thus, a difference in a tone from the attached portion on the periphery can be reduced to lessen the sense of incompatibility.
A third aspect of the invention is directed to the display device according to the second aspect of the invention, wherein the screen has a three-layered structure in which a black layer, a white layer and a grained layer formed by printing are printed from a lower layer to an upper layer in order.
In the display device according to the invention, the black layer is provided in the lower layer portion of the screen and the grained layer is provided thereon through the white layer. Therefore, when the display is turned on, the black layer acts as a mask and serves to block the transmission of the display light of the display. During the use of the display, accordingly, it is possible to more reliably prevent the grained portion from being seen. Thus, it is possible to prevent the presence of the screen from being found. Moreover, when the display is turned off, the white layer provided under the grained layer serves to increase a white level during exposure to an external light. Therefore, the brown color of the grained tone can look better and the grained pattern can look clear.